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Treatment for addiction takes many forms and depends on the needs of the
individual. In accordance with the American Society of Addiction Medicine, we offer
information on outcome-oriented treatment that adheres to an established continuum of
care. In this section, you will find information and resources related to evidence-based
treatment models, counseling and therapy and payment and insurance options.
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In 2014, Oregonians voted to legalize recreational marijuana. Oregon, along with Alaska and Washington, D.C., followed Washington state and Colorado, both of which had legalized cannabis in 2012.
The measure was a long time coming, from the state’s decriminalization of cannabis in 1973 to its legalization of medical marijuana in 1998. In Oregon and the Northwest, marijuana use carries a lower perceived risk than it does in other parts of the United States, and Oregon residents use marijuana more than other Americans.
Unfortunately, Oregonians also struggle with high rates of marijuana addiction and misuse. In 2014, approximately 13 percent of residents in the state who sought treatment for drug addiction needed help with marijuana misuse. That was higher than the percentage of those who sought help for addiction to cocaine and opioids other than heroin during the same year.
It’s hard to say how legalization will impact marijuana usage rates in Oregon. Public health officials are still collecting data on marijuana treatment and emergency department visits related to marijuana use, and the state is currently conducting its 2017 Oregon Healthy Teens Survey, which will provide information on the effects of marijuana legalization on teens.
Oregon’s marijuana industry has been growing since the state legalized medical marijuana in 1998. The Oregon legislature commissioned a 2017 study that estimated the industry paid out $315 million in wages to its 5,776 employees in 2016. Such a strong economic impact means that legalization is likely to stick.
Marijuana Use Rises in Oregon
Oregon’s affinity for marijuana is linked to the state’s history as a longtime hub of counterculture. Starting in the 1960s, the state began to draw hippies from all over the country, California in particular. Bend, Ashland and Eugene all became regional centers of the hippie movement.
Oregon’s counterculture eventually became more urbanized. Portland now has a reputation as a center of alternative lifestyles, art, and left-wing politics, a culture that is satirized on IFC’s television comedy, Portlandia.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Oregonians began to grow large amounts of marijuana. Large indoor grow rooms were common in the West Coast marijuana industry during this period and contributed large amounts of marijuana to the black market. By the 1990s, indoor growers produced 80 percent of the regional marijuana supply across the Northwest, and the DEA began seizing record amounts of marijuana from indoor operations.
In 1996, the DEA estimated that Oregon ranked as one of the top five states producing marijuana, along with neighboring California and Washington.
Oregon’s illicit marijuana industry has two legacies. First, it created a black market — operated by sometimes violent criminals — that still operates today. Second, the illicit industry created the political and economic conditions for the legalization of medical marijuana and, eventually, recreational weed.
Learn about trends in Oregon.
Several deaths in Oregon are caused by heroin, alcohol and more.
Oregon’s countercultural impulses began to manifest politically during the latter part of the 20th century. The state became dependably liberal in statewide elections, and a movement to legalize marijuana began to take hold.
In fact, Oregon’s legalization movement made tangible progress before similar movements in other states. In 1973, Oregon’s legislature decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana, a policy that many liberal states adopted.
Oregon’s cannabis activists became increasingly well-organized and effective. They successfully prevented efforts to recriminalize cannabis in the 1990s. In 1998, Oregon became the second state to allow medical marijuana. Measure 67, the medical marijuana initiative, passed with 54 percent of the vote. Washington state approved its medical marijuana initiative that same year.
Marijuana Legalization: Oregon’s Political Fight
Shortly after legalizing medical marijuana, Oregon’s pot activists started to work on full recreational legalization.
They had fitful success. In 2004, voters rejected an initiative that would have allowed retail sales of cannabis to patients. Medical marijuana remained a DIY operation — patients had to grow their own cannabis — but the legislature did increase the amount a patient could legally grow and possess in 2005. Another similar initiative was defeated by voters in 2010.
However, momentum was clearly building toward legalization. Oregon, Washington and Colorado pot activists spent the early 2010s crafting legalization proposals that went to the ballot in 2012. Washington’s measure, Initiative 502, passed that year. So did Colorado’s. Oregon’s Measure 80 was defeated.
To outsiders, the result was surprising. Legalization seemed to be a sure thing. After all, the state had been first to decriminalize pot and was one of the first medical marijuana states. Advocates at the time thought Oregon’s amenable politics, pervasive counterculture and high marijuana usage rates made legalization an inevitability as soon as a credible measure was put forward.
However, the measure wasn’t credible to voters or observers. In an editorial, The Oregonian, the state’s largest newspaper, denounced Measure 80 as a handout to marijuana growers and the Oregon Cannabis Commission.
Observers called the measure “wacky” because it would have required the state to buy and sell pot from growers, and pay for the legal defense of any marijuana worker prosecuted by the federal government.
Measure 91 Passes in Oregon
Two years later, Measure 91 passed with 56 percent of the vote.
Measure 91 was similar to Colorado’s and Washington’s legalization laws. It did not involve the state in the marijuana business, and it allowed for existing medical businesses to continue operating as they had been. It allowed for an unlimited number of recreational licenses.
Measure 91 was a policy proposal backed by typical Oregonians, not just the hard core of the existing medical marijuana and marijuana activist communities and benefited from support from mainstream political figures like Senator Jeff Merkley and the state Democratic Party.
A clause that allowed local governments to ban recreational shops and growers from operating in their jurisdictions likely softened opposition to the initiative. After Measure 91 passed, 16 counties and 74 cities, mostly in eastern Oregon, voted to ban recreational businesses.
In 2015, the state government accelerated the schedule of retail sales by allowing medical dispensaries to sell before the December 2016 recreational opening day.
The idea was to keep marijuana sales off the black market: at that point, weed was already legal, but there was nowhere for someone without a medical card to buy it legally. As a result, Oregon had a larger market at the start of legalization than Colorado and Washington had.
Since 2015, Oregonians have been allowed to purchase one ounce of recreational marijuana per day. They can also cultivate marijuana in their homes if they wish. As with the other states that have legalized marijuana, retail stores can’t be close to schools, and public consumption of cannabis prohibited.
Medical dispensaries can continue to operate as they did before. The recreational market is booming. According to the state, applications for recreational licenses “far outpaced estimates.”
As of January 31, 2017, more than 2,000 applications for recreational businesses were submitted, and 831 of those were approved. All signs point to continued growth for legal marijuana in Oregon.
Medical Disclaimer: DrugRehab.com aims to improve the quality of life for people struggling with a substance use or mental health disorder with fact-based content about the nature of behavioral health conditions, treatment options and their related outcomes. We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals. The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider.
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AP. (2015, October 1). As Oregon takes its place in weed history, a look at what’s ahead for U.S.
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Sledge, M. (2012, November 7). Colorado, Washington Pot Legalization Deals Drug War Major Blow.
Sobie, R. (1991, June 28). DEA Raids Massive Indoor Marijuana Operation. Retrieved from: #
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UC Davis Health. (2016, December 27). Shift in some teens’ use and perceptions of marijuana after recreational marijuana is legalized.
Weed, J. (2017, March 10). Government-Sponsored Report Tallies Small Business Growth From Legal Marijuana.
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